Community as Sanctuary: Defending Immigrant Families in Times of Fear

"Community as Sanctuary: Defending Immigrant Families in Times of Fear"
Community Over Chaos Speaker Series: Part of the 250 Conversations on America Series in collaboration with Dialogue Vanderbilt.

The event will feature Cathy Carrillo, a Nashville-based community organizer and activist whose work centers on immigrant rights, racial justice, and civic engagement. After experiencing her father’s deportation as a teenager, Carrillo became deeply involved in advocacy for immigrant and Latino communities. She is the Co-Founder of , a grassroots organization dedicated to amplifying Latino voices, and a co-founder of , an anonymous hotline that allows community members to report immigration enforcement activity.

Carrillo works to advance equity while protecting the dignity and safety of all residents. Her organizing connects local concerns such as transportation access and civic participation to broader struggles for justice, highlighting how collective action and community solidarity can challenge systemic inequality.

This conversation invites participants to consider how communities can serve as sanctuaries; places of care, resistance, and collective power, while engaging thoughtfully with one of the most pressing issues of our time.

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Host or Publisher James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements